NANTERRE, France, July 29 (Reuters) – Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh won the first gold medal of her young career with a commanding victory in the women’s 400 metres individual medley at the Paris Olympics.
McIntosh, 17, won her first medal of any colour on the opening night of swimming, taking silver in the 400m freestyle behind Ariarne Titmus – and ahead of Katie Ledecky.
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Today, the Macintosh has the most precious color there is.
“I try to take each event individually and just do my job, but for me, the start – getting on the podium – is definitely a great way to start,” McIntosh said. “You try to keep getting better.”
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She picked up the pace during the first half of the race – butterfly and backstroke – to leave everyone behind except American Katie Grimes.
McIntosh broke his own world record but couldn’t defend it. He crossed the line in 4 minutes, 27.71 seconds, more than three seconds off the 4:24.38 mark he set at the Canadian trials in May.
But it was more than enough to beat everyone in the Olympic final.
McIntosh seemed to take it for granted. Perhaps because he competed in the Tokyo Olympics at age 14, he now feels like a professional athlete.
“Every time I race on the world stage I learn more about mental, physical and emotional management and try not to get too high or too low,” McIntosh said.
She has a grueling schedule in Paris that includes two other individual races: the 200 butterfly and the 200 IM.
There are no plans to celebrate yet.
“I mean, obviously I’m really happy with the gold medal,” McIntosh said. “But now I’m focused on the 200 butterfly on day five.”
Grimes, who also competed in the open water event in Paris, won a silver medal with a time of 4:33.40. The Americans also won a bronze medal when Emma Wyant clocked 4:34.93.
Another Teenage Rule
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David Popovici made it two wins for the teenagers last night with a thrilling victory in the men’s 200m freestyle.
The 19-year-old Romanian swimmer was among three swimmers who swapped leads on the final lap. First, American Luke Hobson was ahead. Then British pilot Matthew Richards, who was in the first lane, took the lead.
Ultimately, Popovici gave it his all to reach the wall in 1 minute 44.72 seconds, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Richards, while Hobson was just 0.07 seconds behind to take the bronze medal.
Britain’s Duncan Scott, who won a silver medal in Tokyo three years ago, finished in 1 minute 44.87 seconds, this time missing out on the podium. The difference between the top four was just 0.15 seconds.
Gold again for Italy
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Thomas Cicon gave Italy its second gold medal in two nights at La Défense Arena after winning the men’s 100m backstroke.
China’s Xu Jiayu led the race, narrowly ahead of American Ryan Murphy, the 2016 gold medalist. Ciccone finished third, but changed gears on the second lap.
The Italian runner who has held the world record since the 2022 World Championships in Budapest now has a gold medal after finishing the race in 52.00 seconds.
Shaw won the silver medal (52.32 points), while Murphy, 29, won his second consecutive Olympic bronze medal.
Cicon was followed by Niccolò Martinenghi, who won Italy’s first gold medal in the pool by winning the 100m breaststroke on Sunday night.
I’m eager to
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In the only semi-final of the evening, Australia’s Kayleigh McEwen and America’s Regan Smith qualified for the highly anticipated women’s 100m backstroke final.
They each won the event, with McEwen setting the fastest time (57.97) and McEwen just behind (57.99).
McKeown is the current Olympic champion and former world record holder – a mark Smith achieved with a time of 57.13 seconds at the US trials last month. (PA)
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